Chinnarat & Joshi tied at the top #IndoOpenGolf

Jakarta, November 17: Chinnarat Phadungsil of Thailand and Khalin Joshi of India fired matching seven-under-par 65s to share the early first round lead at the BANK BRI-JCB Indonesia Open on Thursday.Chinnarat, a three-time Asian Tour champion but not since 2009, and Joshi are fighting to retain their playing rights for next year as they currently sit in 73rd and 113th places on the Order of Merit. They must finish inside the top-64 by the end of the season to retain their Tour cards.Hung Chien-yao of Chinese Taipei, who is searching for a first Asian Tour title, fired a bogey-free 66 while Korea’s Soonsang Hong, Sukree Othman of Malaysia and Jazon Knutzon of the United States were a further shot back in the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.Indonesian amateur Almay Rayhan Yaqutah defied the odds to fire an impressive 68 to lead the local charge at the Pondok Indah Golf Course.The 28-year-old Chinnarat, who holds the honour of being the youngest winner on the Asian Tour at the age of 17 years and five days, rediscovered some of his best form after staying focussed and keeping to a simple game plan.He fired nine birdies but slipped to a share of the lead when he triple bogeyed the par three eighth hole after his tee shot landed in the greenside bunker.“I hope this will be my lucky week and I can win again to get my Asian Tour card. I lost confidence but I’ve been trying hard to get that win again,” said Chinnarat.“I’ve been thinking a lot. I played good today because I focussed on my game and the shot I want to hit. Previously, I kept thinking about many shots even before I hit so it was very confusing!“Now the plan is simple, think of one shot and commit to that shot. No more thinking about trying different shots!” he added.The big-hitting Joshi is hoping for a big week after his close friend Shubhankar Sharma finished tied fourth in the Philippines on Sunday to retain his Tour card for the new 2017 season.“I’ve been talking to Shubhankar (Sharma) and he has been a huge influence to me. He had a great week last week and I’m so happy for him. He told me to never give up because you never know what will happen until the last moment like what happened to him.“I hope to follow in his footsteps and have one good week to keep my card. Once you’ve saved your card, it is a fantastic feeling because you are playing to win and trying to move higher in your career,” said the 24-year-old Joshi.Ends.

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